I had the opportunity to review Dear Kate underwear a month or so ago, and I loved them. If you’re unfamiliar with Dear Kate, definitely check out my review! Dear Kate redefined underwear with their patent-pending Underlux blend of fabric that is wicking, stain-releasing, and leak-resistant.

Recently, I received an email from them inviting me to their Kickstarter launch party this week. Sadly, I can’t make it. Launch party for what you ask? Well, they are coming out with yoga pants!

The campaign revolves around #GOCOMMANDO since they are creating yoga pants using the same revolutionary material their underwear uses. Meaning, you don’t need to wear underwear under yoga pants and worry about panty lines. In my last Dear Kate post, a few readers told me they go commando in workout gear…so this is perfect for you!

Here is what the pants will look like:

I wanted to take the time to do a quick interview with Dear Kate’s marketing guru, Jenna Steckel. I think this is an amazing product, and they have had some great collaborations, such as one with Believe I Am. Keep your eye on them!

Can you give us a little background on Dear Kate and how you got started? What was your inspiration for creating this product for women?

Julie Sygiel, 26, had the idea for Dear Kate while in an entrepreneurship class in college. A chemical engineering student and mega feminist, she wanted to find a way to combine those interests. In her dorm’s bathroom, she’d see women scrubbing, then inevitably throwing out, their period-stained underwear every month, and she knew there had to be a better way. So for her final project for the course, she proposed a new type of underwear that would provide women with the support their bodies need. She spent the two years after graduation making that vision a reality. She worked with with fabric mills, asked everyone she knew to test out prototypes, and dove into the world of entrepreneurship. What she came up with is underwear that is silky soft and unbelievably comfortable, with a patent-pending blend of fabrics that is stain-releasing, machine washable, wicking, and protects like a pantiliner without plastic inserts or bulk, making them leak-proof for up to three teaspoons of liquid.

Who are the Dear Kate panties perfect for?

Dear Kates are perfect for every stage in a woman’s life cycle: from a girl’s first period when she wants to be completely secure, to every period after that when you just don’t want to deal with it, to new moms experiencing changes in their bodies, to working out, or any day you just want to feel invincible.

Can you tell us about your current Kickstarter campaign? Why did you decide to make yoga pants as well?

Dear Kate has become a cult favorite among professional athletes and fitness-conscious women, who tell us how much they appreciate their ability to wick sweat and prevent workout leaks. It was a natural transition to create an expanded line of fitness apparel. When customers asked when Dear Kate would expand its line to include more fitness apparel, we asked what they most wanted. The response was an unequivocal “yoga pants!”

It makes perfect sense: comfortable, intimate, athletic, versatile, and stylish, yoga pants have become a staple of both performance and street wear. But they’re not quite perfect yet, so we set about to do for yoga pants what we had done to underwear. We began by asking our customers and friends what they hated, loved, and wished for in their yoga pants. Turns out we hit a nerve, because over 900 women responded. Many felt so passionately that an online survey wasn’t enough, so Julie took calls from and met up with women who saw the chance to finally get the pair they had always imagined. Meanwhile, Julie tried out 70 of the leading yoga pants on the market, experiencing firsthand the assets and woes of each style.

We took this input to the drawing board, designing a fit and style sure to fit and flatter the wide range of women’s real bodies. We tested fabrics until we found one that is solid yet light, soft, and guaranteed see-through proof. We even sent it to an industrial pilling machine to make sure it doesn’t pill.

Julie tried out each prototype on the yoga mat and in the streets until she found the pair she never wanted to take off. With a small inset of Dear Kate’s patent pending Underlux fabric, these pants offer the protection of Dear Kate’s underwear technology while allowing you to go commando. No VPL (Visible Panty Lines), no bunching or riding up, and no stress over winging it or feeling pressure to wear thongs. Just comfort and freedom of movement.

What else is in store for Dear Kate in the future?

We’re expanding more into athletic wear, as our Believe I Am collection with Olympic runner Ro McGettigan and our Hazel sport collection have become customer favorites. The yoga pants are the first step in this new direction! On the underwear front, we have an exciting guest artist designed collection coming up this summer, and a new line of lacy favorites launching soon as well. We definitely envision Dear Kate as a company that’s reimagining a woman’s entire wardrobe, piece by piece, and Julie is excited to hit the lab to get to focus more on new product development.

Disclaimer: Dear Kate provided me with product to review for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Attention males: You probably will want to skip this post Or not, if you’re looking for a good gift for a lady friend…

I found Dear Kate through another blogger, and was instantly intrigued. I’m sure I can’t explain this as well as they can, so here is the description from their website:

Recognizing that most lingerie cannot keep up with a woman’s body, chemical engineer Julie Sygiel knew there had to be a better alternative to “period panties” and embarrassing mishaps. So she hit the lab and developed the silky-soft, patent-pending fabric behind each pair of Dear Kates. Made in NYC, each pair is wicking, stain releasing, and leak-resistant—preparing you for everything from cardio to just another day hanging out with aunt flo.

The founder, Julie, came up with this idea in a college entrepreneurship class. How awesome is that? As an entrepreneur myself, I love her story and think it’s amazing when someone has an idea and makes it happen.

What intrigued me about the underwear was that it was waterproof…which would be perfect for running and working out. As I have mentioned before, I sweat a ton. They actually also make a sports line of underwear for athletes as well.

Anyway, I wanted to try a pair because of how much I sweat. During workouts (and after obviously), my underwear is usually pretty sweaty…TMI I know, but I figure I need to write about this to properly explain why I love Dear Kates

As mentioned in the description, they are also great for that “time of the month” when you might have an accident. How many times has that happened to you? Blegh…the worst.

Dear Kate was generous enough to send me the “Amelia” and the “Ella.” They were out of the “hipster” style, so they sent me “full” and I was kind of nervous about that. I didn’t want to look like I was wearing granny panties or anything!

The Ella

The Amelia

When I opened the package, I loved the silky feel of the underwear. Random side note: I’m calling it underwear because I hate the word panty….anyone else?

I decided to try them out at my most recent 5K. I wanted to test out the water resistance, but also whether they were comfortable or not. Sometimes underwear in tight, spandex shorts rides up or give you wedgies. No good.

They felt silky smooth when I put them on, and when I put on my spandex shorts, they stayed put. My shorts rolled right on! Has anyone else had the experience of putting on spandex and your underwear rolling all up in a bunch? It happens to me more often than not because I don’t wear thongs, so I have to deal with all that material. But yeah, the Dear Kates stayed put!

As I said earlier, I was sent the “full” so it did have a higher waistband. But I actually liked it because it didn’t dig into your stomach.

During the race, I didn’t even notice them. Not once did I have to pick a wedgie, like I have with certain underwear in the past. Sorry, I love Victoria’s Secret PINK underwear, but some are just not great for racing!

After my workouts, my underwear is usually pretty sweat…attractive I know. These really did do what they say they would, in terms of being leak resistant. They weren’t wet at all. After my race, I had to keep running to my car in order to drive 1.5 hours to my brother’s soccer game. I was totally comfortable sitting in the car, as opposed to what would have happened had I been wearing cotton underwear.

I really loved the Ella!

All in all, if you’re active and have my sweating issue, or if you have had your fair share of “leaks” during that time of the month, then you’d love these. They are stylish while also being extremely practical. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

A lot of different styles and patterns

Leak resistant and stain releasing

Very comfortable and smooth material

No wedgies or riding up while you exercise

Full coverage (if you get the styles I got at least), so no panty lines in tight shorts or pants

CONS

The plain color, like the black one I pictured, can look kind of “granny panty-ish” but other styles such as the Ella are really cute.

More expensive than other underwear, but I think it’s worth it if you want a higher-end, comfortable panty (ugh, had to use it here), that is also extremely useful to have.

As you can see, I think the pros outweigh the cons here. Definitely check out their website to read more about the technology they use, and look through their styles!

And guess what? Thanks to Dear Kate, you all can get a 25% discount through April 30th! Just use the code ‘reachyourpeak’ upon checkout.

What do you think of leak resistant underwear? Which style do you like?